Kotor- The brave's tale
by Lady Chey
Summary: My fanfiction for Kotor's storyline. Carth and fem Revan romance. Redoing my old story for the sake of my sanity. M for later chapters. I own nothing of the characters or anything far wars.
1. Chapter 1

The first sense to come back to her was sound, a low humming. More like a buzzing, with the occasional crack or pop that made her want to flinch. Next was the smell. Mold? Mildew? Or was it just the staleness of the air? It felt like someone hadn't opened a window or turned on the air filter in a while.

Then the headache pulsed through her skull, every blood vessel in the top right side of her head seeming to spasm all at once. Her body lurched upward into a sitting position, her head spinning with the movement before throbbing again. "Frack me... Five bottles of Titharr feels better than this..." She hissed, cradling her head with the palm of her hand.

"Good to see you up."

The deep voice made her flinch, shifting against the wall, pushing herself away from the sound. Her eyes locking on the tall figure a few feet away "-instead of thrashing about in your sleep...". The man bit the inside of his cheek, his dark brown eyes scanning her over as if she was a tense animal. He was worried though, her instincts had kept her alive during the attack on the Endar Spire, there was no telling what she would do when she felt threatened. He wouldn't make a comment like that though. He took a small step forward, tilting his head so she might see his face better. "You must have been having one hell of a nightmare, I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up."

Her eyes narrowed at him, though not in an aggressive manner that he had seen before over monitors. Instead this was a more thoughtful look, still no more trusting. Her expression made his breath stick in his throat. Her eyes had an inner ring of silver surrounded by teal blue. He took a deep breath to remember his course of thought.

"I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, do you remember?"

She blinked for a minute and her confused face fell. "That's.. right... Right I'm Mira Rayshild. How did I get here?" She winced again, her palm pressing harder against her forehead. "I- I had a strange dream... Like a Vision or something..." Mira said softly. She gently brushed her bangs back, the soft brown hair bouncing back into place in soft curls against her forehead.

Carth's face softened considerably, almost an identifiable smile creeping to the corners of his lips. He stood straight and walked to the small kitchenet that paired off to the side of the entrance door. Taking a rag from the not so clean counter, he ran cool water over it. "I'm not surprised. You took a serious blow to the head. You're probably having all kinds of strange dreams." He squeezed the excess water out of the rag and walked back to her, offering the cool cloth to her. Mira took it gingerly and slowly pressed it to her head. Letting out a slow hiss as she did so.

"I wouldn't worry about it." He smiled reassuringly. "And you've been drifting in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now. So It's not surprising you're pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We're safe... at least for the moment."

Mira nodded and swung her legs off the bed, scooting forward to stand up. Carth's arms shot out as she leaned back and fourth. "Woah there… Take it easy." He kept a hand on her shoulder as she steadied. "I'm good… I'm good." She smiled stiffly, still holding the cool rag to her head. "Just update me on the situation." Carth nodded, still keeping his hand firmly on her shoulder in case she swayed once more.

"We're on a sith quarantined planet, Taris. I managed to get us away from the escape pod crash without much notice, But we still have some major problems." Mira arched a brow at him curiously. "Not only being under sith Quarenteen, the sith have delcared martial law, their fleet is orbiting the planet and there is no transport on or off the planet without sith approval." Mira's nose scrunched up, her face falling into a scowl.

"Oh is that all?" she quipped, shaking her head as she stepped forward to the small table in the middle of the room. Surrounded by a few small chairs that looked like they might not even hold up her small frame. Despite her caution she sat down and put the cloth down so she could begin to gently detangle her curly brown hair with her fingers. Carth shrugged "I've been in worse spots."

Mira let out a short scoff, trying to avoid pulling hair that would affect the pained area of her head. "Worse spots? Don't tell me you're going to make it hard to get off this planet." When she was mostly pleased with the detanglement of her hair she started braiding it down the back of her head and over her shoulder, shaking the shorter strands of her bangs free to frame her face once more in curls against her cheeks.

Carth slightly smirked at her remark and shook his head, moving across from her at the table. "That's not all. As much as I would like to get off this planet as soon as possible… Theres a mission we got to complete first. Bastila Shan was on the Endar Spire. She's the best hope for the republic war effort. And all things considered, the sith must have learned she was on our flagship and left an ambush for us."

"Bastila…. The jedi extraordinaire. I heard about her." Mira mumbled, trying off her hair and leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes.

"That smack to your head must have done more damage then I thought." Mira opened one eyes to peer at him. "Bastila was a part of the strike force that killed Darth Revan, Malaks sith master. Without her we are pretty much screwed." Mira nodded lazily, rubbing her forehead. "I get it I get it. So where do we start looking for miss perfect?"

Carth sighed at Bastila's apparent nickname. This girl had an amazing service record. Her skills and traits he had read about made her an ideal recruit and incredibly useful to get them off of this planet…. But he wondered about her personality. Was she someone he could trust to actually get them off this planet? Or was she in it to get off this planet by herself? He would simply have to hope his judgment would go well.

"I did some scouting around while you were unconscious. I've heard that some more escape pods fell into the undercity on Taris. if I'm correct, Bastila must be on one of those pods. At least we can hope." Carth exhaled deeply and watched for Mira's response, his big brown eyes almost pleading.

Mira peeked her eyes open once more, momentarily getting caught up in his big brown eyes. No one should have such big deep pretty eyes. She let out a small groan. "Under city? do we have to go right now?" Carth smirked a bit, shrugging his shoulders. She let out another small groan. "alright…. lets scrung up some food, then I'll help in scouting out a few more rumors before we make our way down."

Carth smiled and nodded. "Great! There's a cantina in the area."

Mira nodded. "That's perfect for listening for rumors as well. good choice Onasi." She smiled a bit, standing up to get herself ready and decent clothing wise. "Call me Carth." he said, bringing a brighter and more relaxed smile to her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors note-

Being a fanfiction there are a few details I would like to edit for the sake of the story, I still claim no ownership of the characters or anything of StarWars. One of the few things I'll be changing is Carth's age, it's one thing I can never calculate well on the wookiepedia so I always assume his age to be about 34 if he had dustil at 18. And by the way that brat acts I would assume he is still a teenager when he is found. Depending how my inspiration sparks I may tweek a few things later. But for now I hope you all enjoy! :)

After a brief scuffle in the hall outside their newly claimed base, Carth and Mira wandered out into the main street, headed for the cantina Carth had mentioned earlier. Mira's caught sight of the crash pod though, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Carth stopped too, thinking she would probably want to see it eventually. He didn't like standing there in the open with her staring slack jawed at the pod, but there wasn't much else he would do.

The thing was still smoking! Mira's brows furrowed as she looked over the pod from a distance, trying to evaluate the damage that had been done to it. The hull was badly damaged, the entrance panel to it hanging off by one bolt. Either Carth had smashed their way out or they had nearly been propelled out by the air pressure. The thought of being thrown from the escape pod to burn in a free fall to Taris' surface made her shudder. It also brought back a flash of memory.

_Loud beeping, a roaring rumble surrounding her, making her feet shake on the metal grate that acted as a floor. A glance out the view port gave way only to flame. Her heart lurched up in her throat in fear, wondering if this would be her last moments. A grunt from in front of her made her look at the man that had accompanied her, his dark eyes focused on the clasp that held her straps in place. It jiggled a bit more while the pod shook, and came apart with a barely audiable click. "Hey-!" The man gasped, leaning forward as if his arms could stretch across the pod to grab her, or her harness straps. Her hands were already locked on the two clips, struggling to get them at the right angle to snap them back into place. Before she could though, the pod jerked, launching her straight up from her seat, her head slamming into the metal above her. "Mira!" Before she could respond, her sight faded and everything went silent. _

"Mira?" Carth gently put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back into reality. Her mouth snapped shut and she looked at him, easily depicting what she had just remembered to him through just her shocked irisis. Carth swallowed and nodded, lowering his voice for only her ears. "I'm just glad you're so small, I may not have been able to grab you and drag you out. Though I'd much rather be a sith's target dummy than leave anyone behind." He moved his hand to her back, just to push her forward to get her moving once more. She lowered her eyes to the ground and mumbled a 'thank you'.

"You're welcome. I've never left a fellow soldier behind and I don't intend to start."

This made Mira smile a bit. From what she could tell, Carth Onasi was a very noble man. In his own way. He seemed very loyal and determined, not to mention honest. She remembered Trask mentioning how great of a man he was, babbling on about the great Onasi while she fought to unlock doors and grab med packs. But standing next to him, knowing she owed him her life, knowing that he truly seemed like a man with heart of gold, she couldn't blame Trask.

"Say Carth…" Mira said quietly as they entered the Cantina. "Yes? What's on your mind" He mumbled, looking around the Cantina curiously, seeing no reason immediately to run out. It actually seemed like an okay place… for now.

Mira also looked around, entwining her fingers in front of her in a more ladylike way, her scout uniform not being much for wear. She had to make a mental note of getting more clothes at that shop they passed by. Carth Immediatly started scouting out for food, Mira following close behind. "I'd like to know more about you, Carth." She said politely, smiling at him when he peered at her over his shoulder. One of the rooms to the side of the main hub of the cantina was obviously a small resturaunt and bar, a table in the back corner free for their taking. He waited only until they sat down before finally responding.

"Well… I've been a star pilot wiht the republic fleet for years… I was even in the mandalorian wars before all this sith mess started. I gotta say, at least the mandalorians weren't as senseless and blood thirsty as these sith." Carth kept his head low, his voice quiet despite the noise of the cantina. Mira listened carefully, only stopping him for a moment when their waiter came, offering them the list of drinks and taking their orders before rushing off once more. She nodded for him to continue, showing as much interest as a child during story time.

"My homeworld… it was one of the first planets to fall to Malak's fleet. The sith bombed it into submission.. and there wasn't a Damn thing our republic forces could do to stop them!" Carths fist banged on the table, not much for attention. From a bystander's view, he only looked like a man who had a bad day. Not an unusal sight on Taris apparently with the blockade. Mira leaned back a bit and dug her nails into her palms, wishing the conversation had not turned this way.

"I'm sorry Carth… this must be very painful for you-"

"I'm just a soldier; I go where the fleet admirals tell me to. I follow my orders and I do my Duty. It just…." Carth's jaw twitched, almost in anger. His eyes fixed on a point on the far end of the table and he sighed. "Doesn't seem right that doing that means I failed them! I didn't!"

Mira stretched her hands across the table, not touching him but hopefully blocking his fix point on the table, hoping to regain his attention on her. "I'm sorry Carth…. I didn't mean to upset you!" she said, worry leaking into her blue eyes.

Carth paused, his breath stopping for a second as he looked at her once more. "I… I know… It's just…. I must not be making much sense. Sorry. I know you mean well with your questions but I'm not used to answering." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down again. "I'm used to taking action so… can we just eat our food and move on? If you must, ask your questions later." He said, finishing in a rush as the waiter returned with their food. Mira nodded quickly, and attended to her growling stomach.

After they had eaten, Mira suggested they spread out across the cantina and see what they could hear for themselves, then meet back in the restaurant to go over what they got. The scout noticed a few things, a con artist in the music lounge. A young sith woman by the door, looking incredibly bored and out on her luck. Another young sith man named Yun, who apparently had trouble keeping his eyes in their sockets. And finally the dueling arena, which Mira stopped for a moment to watch a pitiful match.

Ever more curious, Mira wandered over to the Hutt in the far side of the duelist's corner, folding her arms behind her back as she walked up to him.

"Betting is over little girl, leave me be to count my winnings." The Hutt grumbled, looking her over with a glance and ignoring her right after. Her eyes narrowed in irritation. So far hunting for information had been a dud, so hunting for credits would have to be her next move.

"I'm not here for betting, I am here to register for a duel." she said, earning a chuckle from the Hutt. "And who are you to go into the ring? A pipsqueak like yourself." The Hutt chortled, seeming even more amused by her serious expression. This time he looked her over more carefully, debating her height and build. "Perhaps you might prove to be an opponent in the ring… what would we call you? Prey perhaps?" He chortled, earning a scowl from Mira.

"I have 100 credits for registry, call me what you want but get me into the ring. I expect to see some earnings for fresh blood. Wouldn't you agree? People might start flocking with a new duelist, with this quarantine blocking much of anyone else coming in." Mira arched an eyebrow, finally getting the Hutt to stop jiggling with laughter long enough to hear her out. He pondered this for a moment, licking his slimey lips in thought.

"Very well…. you will be called, Mysterious stranger. For you are a mysterious young lass, and a stranger to Taris at that. It may perk some interest of the viewers." The hutt finally agreed, seeming unsure of his choice. "Your match will begin in twenty minutes. Be in the ring by then or you will not duel here again."

Mira smiled, giving the Hutt and elegant bow before trotting off to the corner of the room, avoiding the other duelists while she calmed herself for a match. Hopefully Carth would still be looking for something before she finished….


End file.
